The National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse is affiliated with the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion.
TO CONTACT: THE CLEARINGHOUSE: SELFHELPCLEARINGHOUSE@GMAIL.COM … SUSAN ROGERS: SUSAN.ROGERS.ADVOCACY@GMAIL.COM … JOSEPH ROGERS: JROGERS08034@GMAIL.COM
The Key Update is compiled, written, and edited by Susan Rogers, Director, National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse.
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“The New National Mental Health Crisis Line Wants to Track Your Location”
In July 2022, 988 is scheduled to replace 1.800.273.TALK, the current federally funded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. But some mental health advocates say that the new number—which will include geolocation technology, as 911 does—has the potential for police showing up at the caller’s door. “Autonomy and choice outweigh any benefits of geolocation services,” said disability rights activist Jess Stohlmann-Rainey of Rocky Mountain Crisis Partners in Denver. “We marginalize and put communities who need us at risk by doing any kind of coercion.” Stohlmann-Rainey is quoted in “The New National Mental Health Crisis Line Wants to Track Your Location,” which notes that calling 911 has been dangerous—even fatal—especially for people of color. For the article, on the Disability Visibility Project website, click here. And for “Suicide Hotlines Bill Themselves as Confidential—Even as Some Trace Your Call,” click here. Also, Mad In America is collecting information about suicide hotlines in order to provide a list of numbers that do not trace or send help without consent under any circumstances. To participate, click here.
Alternatives 2021 Will Include Exciting Action Groups & Inspiring Workshops! Register Now!
The National Coalition for Mental Health Recovery is proud to host the (free!) 2021 (Virtual) Alternatives Conference, now in its 35th year! This year, in addition to a full schedule of workshops guaranteed to engage, educate, and inspire participants, the conference will invite attendees to join Action Groups, during which group members will develop important strategic plans to take back to their communities and work on in the days, weeks, and months ahead. The three existing Action Groups are National and Statewide Advocacy, Crisis Prevention and Alternatives to Institutionalization, and Promoting Racial and Social Justice and Community Integration. (Additional groups may be added.) The conference—whose theme is “Connecting, Organizing, Activating!”—will take place on July 8, 10, 15, and 17. For a partial list of the workshops (organized by topic area), click here. To register (for free—although donations are welcome!), click here. For the Alternatives conference website, click here. For questions: info@ncmhr.org
Free Webinar: “Mental Health Journey: Voices From Individuals With Lived Experience On Self-Disclosure, Recovery, & Hope,” May 13
On May 13 at 12 p.m. ET, PsychU will host a free, one-hour webinar entitled “Mental Health Journey: Voices From Individuals With Lived Experience On Self-Disclosure, Recovery, & Hope.” PsychU writes: “In this webinar, hear from individuals with lived experience on their self-disclosure challenges and barriers, how they incorporate wellness strategies into their daily lives, and share their individualized recovery journeys and approaches in addressing and overcoming mental health self-stigma.” For details and to register, click here. (Courtesy of Open Minds)
Medical Discrimination Against Marginalized Groups During Covid-19 Is Documented
A recent report by a coalition of civil rights groups and legal scholars—Examining How Crisis Standards of Care May Lead to Intersectional Medical Discrimination Against COVID-19 Patients—“provides an explanation of crisis standards of care policies implemented by states and hospital systems and how they may discriminate against marginalized individuals and communities; the principles that should apply to prevent discrimination; the relevant civil rights legal framework; and recommended strategies to ensure that crisis standards do not discriminate during the pandemic or in the future,” the National Disability Rights Network writes. Jennifer Mathis of the Bazelon Center, another of the participating groups, said, “As people with disabilities, older adults, and people of color continue to contract and die from COVID-19 at disproportionately high rates, we hope that this resource will be used to help ensure fair and non-discriminatory provision of life-saving treatment.” To download a PDF of the free report, click here. To download the free report in Word, click here: [Word].
Free Webinar: “Taking Care of Business: Self-Care and Counteracting Burnout 2021”
On May 14, 2021, at 11:30 a.m. ET, NYAPRS will present a free 75-minute webinar: “Taking Care of Business: Self-Care and Counteracting Burnout 2021.” “Drawing from our own Self Care, Counteracting Burnout and Laughter is the Best Medicine trainings, in this webinar we will help you take a deep breath, assess, intervene, and hopefully smile too! We will offer exercises to assist with clearing your head, feeling grounded, and getting energized. We'll review strategies to cope with remote-working and hopefully laugh a little as we spend 75 minutes together, healing, strategizing and recharging for the challenges that lay ahead!” You can earn 1.25 CE hours. To register, click here.
Racial Disparities in Involuntary Psychiatric Hospitalizations Are the Subject of Two Studies; and “SPLC Report Examines Excessive Use of Florida’s Mental Health Law on Children”
Two studies—one published in Lancet Child & Adolescent Health on April 27, 2021, the other in Lancet Psychiatry in 2019—report on racial disparities in involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations. “Nearly a quarter of all child and adolescent admissions to psychiatric hospitals are involuntary,” according to the new study. Few of the 23 studies in 11 countries on psychiatric admissions for people under 18 that were examined “focused on racial disparities, but those that did revealed that youths admitted involuntarily were almost three times more likely to be Black than white. This mirrors disparities seen in adults…But since previous involuntary hospitalizations increase odds of experiencing another, the study authors write that the disparities found may indicate a cycle of inequality starting in childhood that continues into adulthood.” For the childhood study, click here. For the adult article, click here. (Courtesy of Fran Hazam) And a Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) report “reveals that more than 37,000 children [in Florida] are inappropriately forced into psychiatric hospitals each year. The excessive use of Florida’s mental health law, known as the Baker Act, has resulted in the inappropriate and illegal psychiatric hospitalization of thousands of Black and Brown children and children with disabilities each year.” For the SPLC press release, including a link to the report, click here.
Webinar: Award-winning Author Discusses “…Paradoxes of Madness & Philosophy,” May 14, 12 p.m. ET
On May 14 at 12 p.m. ET, the International Society for Psychological and Social Approaches to Psychosis, U.S. Chapter (ISPS-US), will present a webinar entitled “How Can the Uncontainable Be Contained? Paradoxes of Madness & Philosophy.” The presenter is Wouter Kusters, award-winning author of A Philosophy of Madness: The Experience of Psychotic Thinking. ISPS-US writes, “Have you ever met people who reported that ‘asking too many questions’ was what seemed to have led them into madness? Or maybe you noticed yourself that the more you looked into the deeper aspects of existence, the more paradoxical, and maddening, reality seemed to become? If these sorts of issues interest you, and if you think understanding them may help us provide better help to people who are struggling, then you may benefit from joining in the webinar.” For details about the webinar and to register, click here. (ISPS-US writes: “A donation of $5-$40 is requested, though no one turned away for lack of funds.”) (Courtesy of Kevin Fitts)
Free Interactive Workshop on “Writing as Wellness,” May 14
On May 14, 2021, 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT), HUG ME Ink will host Writing as Wellness. “Writing as Wellness is a free, virtual, 90-minute interactive workshop that will explore how writing can be therapeutic. Through journaling exercises, participants will be able to express themselves from their minds to the paper. This workshop is open for all ages. All you have to bring is yourself, a writing instrument (pen, pencil, marker, etc.) and paper. The workshop is co-hosted by the San Antonio Public Library. Let loose! Be free! Get your WRITE on!” Registration is required; to register, click here.
Temple University Collaborative Publishes New Resources
“Tracking Community Mobility: An R Program for Cleaning and Creating Constructs from GPS Data” is one of the new resources available from the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion. “Researchers have started using Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to examine people’s community mobility,” the TU Collaborative writes. “But GPS data can be messy, and a lot of cleaning needs to happen before measures of community mobility can be generated. This program describes and implements the data cleaning steps and goes on to create several community mobility variables from GPS data.” The newsletter also links to a podcast on the same topic, as well as a six-page guide to the benefits of participating in sports and how to get involved, including how to do so while physically distancing. To read it all, click here.
Free Webinar: “Emotional CPR by and for Youth,” May 19
On May 19, 2021, at 2 p.m. ET, the National Empowerment Center will present a free, 90-minute webinar on eCPR as the latest in its series of youth leadership webinars. “Emotional CPR (eCPR) is…designed by people with lived experience to teach people how to connect with and support those in distress…In this webinar, the presenters will share their experience taking leadership roles with developing the eCPR for Youth curriculum…Participants will gain an understanding of the leadership roles youth can play in mental health education and training.” For more information and to register, click here.
“Having a Bad Trip? This Hotline Can Help You Find Your Chill,” Mic Reports; and “A Psychedelic Drug Passes a Big Test for PTSD Treatment”
On April 14, 2021, the Fireside Project, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, launched the Psychedelic Peer Support Line—6-2FIRESIDE (623.473.7433, call or text), which offers “free and confidential emotional peer support” for people anywhere in the U.S. who “are tripping right now, or need help processing a past trip.” The support line operates Thursday through Sunday, 3 p.m.-3 a.m. PT (6 p.m.-6 a.m. ET) and Monday 3 p.m.-7 p.m. PT (6 p.m.-10 p.m. ET). “[W]e provide peer support only, not medical advice or assessment,” Fireside Project creator Joshua White told Mic, an online publication. “To be clear, though, if a person is in immediate danger to themselves or others, they should call emergency services, not the Psychedelic Peer Support Line,” Mic added, quoting White: “[S]ometimes people just need to be supported during their experience by a peer, someone who has been there before and gets it, and then emergency services may not be necessary.” For the Mic article, click here. For the Fireside Project, click here. And in a related story, to read “A Psychedelic Drug Passes a Big Test for PTSD Treatment: A new study shows that MDMA, known as Ecstasy or Molly, can bring relief when paired with talk therapy to those with severe post-traumatic stress disorder,” click here.
“Taking the Call: A National Conference Exploring Innovative Community Responder Models”; and “Following other cities, Philly will soon send specialists alongside cops to some mental health calls”; and “Feds Fund Mental Health Crisis Teams to Stand In for Police”
On May 20, 2021, at 2 p.m. ET, “Taking the Call will bring people together from across the U.S. to explore how jurisdictions are serving as laboratories for innovation to ensure that emergency calls receive the appropriate response. The [free, 90-minute] conference will explore the opportunities and challenges of these community responder models and whether or how the approach may improve community health, lessen the burden on law enforcement, and reduce unnecessary justice system contact…Taking the Call will also include a [free] virtual gathering on October 20-21, 2021 (more details here).” For details and to register, click here. For the rest of the Council of State Governments Justice Center newsletter, including “Law Enforcement Crisis Response Resources,” “Conducting Follow-up After a Crisis Encounter,” and more, click here. In a related story, for “Following other cities, Philly will soon send specialists alongside cops to some mental health calls: Other jurisdictions are trying more aggressive plans that leave the first response to mental health emergencies entirely up to health-care providers, not police. It could be in Philly’s future,” click here. And in another related story, “Feds Fund Mental Health Crisis Teams to Stand In for Police”—“Dispatching teams of paramedics and behavioral health practitioners would take mental health crisis calls out of the hands of uniformed and armed officers, whose mere arrival may ratchet up tensions. In Eugene, Oregon, such a strategy has been in place more than 30 years, with solid backing from police”— click here.
“Study Highlights Challenges for Mental Health Peer Specialists,” Mad In America Reports; and “Black Peer Support: A Role in Mental Health Recovery,” via Harvard Health Publishing
“Role clarity, supervisor flexibility, peer input, and professional development top [the] list of needed supports for mental health peer specialists,” according to a recent article in Mad In America. “A team of researchers across the United States recently released research in Psychiatric Services in Advance detailing the best ways to support and supervise peer specialists in the mental health workforce. Through semi-structured qualitative interviews with four peer specialists and five supervisors and their personal experience with peer specialists, the authors were able to unpack a number of support and supervision strategies to best support peer specialists.” For the article, click here. And for “Black Peer Support: A Role in Mental Health Recovery”—in which the author writes, “In 2005 I created Black Voices: Pathways 4 Recovery (BV) at The Transformation Center in Roxbury, MA, for people of the African diaspora seeking safe spaces to talk about what it’s like living Black in America. It’s enormously valuable to be in the process of recovery with people who face that same daily reality”—click here. (Note: To participate in a survey of peer support supervisors, see “Do You Supervise Peer Support Workers? Then Researchers Have Some Questions for You” in the “From Previous Editions of the Key Update but Still Fresh” Department, below.)
Free Webinar: “Communication: Healthy Boundaries for Peer Specialists,” May 25
On May 25, 2021, at 2 p.m. ET, Doors to Wellbeing will offer a free webinar as part of its monthly webinar series. Presented by Jane Winterling of the Copeland Center for Wellness and Recovery, the one-hour webinar “will explore the dynamics of establishing healthy personal and professional boundaries through communication skills. The webinar will go over strategies and tools to maintain healthy boundaries between peer specialists and peers receiving services. For more information and to register, click here.
PRA Offers Colorful Images to Share in Honor of Mental Health Month
Policy Research Associates (PRA) offers three icons to recognize Mental Health Month. PRA created these images for use in May 2020, and the images are still available for free. PRA wrote: “Download the images and send them to a friend, colleague, or loved one in an email, a text, or a social media message to let them know that you’re thinking of them and are proud of them for taking care of their mental health!” To learn more about the campaign and to download the three colorful images—“You Are Strong,” “You Got This,” and “Proud of You for Taking Care of You”—click here.
UCLA to Host #WOW21: Whole Health Includes Mental Health Virtual Conference
On May 13 at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET), UCLA will host #WOW21: Whole Health Includes Mental Health—The Conversation Continues Virtually. “#WOW2021’s goal is to ensure that any comprehensive conversation about health always includes mental health…Further, #WOW aims to raise awareness and reduce stigma associated with mental illness. Proceeds benefit mental health research, education, and clinical care programs at UCLA. A donation of any size will provide admittance to the event.” For more information and to donate and register, click here.
Peer Support and Other Resources, Such as Webinars, May Help Youth Cope with Mental Health Issues
“Half of all Youth MOVE chapters offer informal youth peer support programs.” For more information, click here. And “May is children’s mental health awareness month,” writes the National Training and Technical Assistance Center for Child, Youth, and Family Mental Health (NTTAC), a SAMHSA-funded initiative, which “works to ensure all young people and families get the support they need to thrive.” For more about NTTAC and its services, click here. In addition, recordings of three youth-related webinars are available for free viewing. The three are “Workforce Development of Youth Peer Counselors,” about how Washington State is encouraging youths, aged 17 to 26, to explore careers as certified peer counselors (click here); “Incorporating Youth Leadership into Treatment,” about empowering youth to see how their resilience is leadership (click here); and “Empowering Youth as Mental Health Peer Specialists,” about how to engage youth as mental health peer specialists (click here). (Courtesy of Jeremy Countryman and Amey Dettmer, respectively)
Seven Graphic Artists—Six if You Don’t Count Allie Brosh—Explore How It Feels to Have a Mental Health Condition
Six graphic novels and memoirs, most of which are at least partly autobiographical, convey the experience of having a mental health condition. Among the six are Depresso, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Embrace Being Bonkers!, by Brick; Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, by Alison Bechdel—which was later adapted into a Tony Award-winning musical; and Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, + Me,” by Ellen Forney. All six come with a price tag. But two comics about depression by Allie Brosh—which have previously appeared in the Key Update—are available for free. For “Adventures in Depression,” click here; for “Depression Part Two,” click here. Both are excerpted from Brosh’s book “Hyperbole and a Half,” which is available for sale.
The May 2021 Digest of Articles Offering Healthy Lifestyle Advice
For “Don’t Wish for Happiness. Work for It. If you want to improve your well-being, you need to make a plan and act on it,” click here. For “When the Doctor Prescribes Poetry: ‘This crisis affects more or less everyone, and poetry can help us process difficult feelings like loss, sadness, anger, lack of hope,’” click here. For “How to Buy Happiness: The joys of money are nothing without other people,” click here. For “More Birds Make You As Happy As More Money,” click here. For “Regular Exercise May Help Protect Against Severe Covid: People who tended to be sedentary were far more likely to be hospitalized, and to die, from Covid than those who exercised regularly,” click here. For “The Healing Power of Music: Music therapy is increasingly used to help patients cope with stress and promote healing,” click here.
The May 2021 Digest of Articles about the Criminal Justice System, in Which Many Individuals with Mental Health Conditions Are Incarcerated (and the Key Update continues after this Digest)
For “Punitive Excess: America’s criminal legal system is unduly harsh. Experts explain how we got here and solutions that will benefit everyone,” click here. For “Brett Kavanaugh Rules Children Deserve Life in Prison With No Chance of Parole: The Trump-appointee who asked not to be judged by his high school year book has a different point of view for kids who aren’t Tobin, Squi, and PJ,” click here. For “Can the ‘Wisdom of a Second Look’ Curb America’s Appetite for Harsh Sentences?” click here. For “The Language Project,” click here. For “Crime, the Myth: It’s up to society to say what is and isn’t a crime, and it varies more than one might think,” click here. For “A Year of Disaster at Old Colony: Suicide Attempts, Self-Harm, and Covid,” click here. For “Prisons and jails will separate millions of mothers from their children in 2021: The most important statistics about the incarceration of mothers and pregnant women,” click here. For “From incarceration to the Washington Legislature, Rep. Tarra Simmons hits her stride in first term in Olympia,” click here. For “Who Is Serving and Protecting Assault Victims? Most rape crisis and domestic-violence programs wouldn’t survive without government funding that ties them to the police—and it’s left advocates trapped in a toxic dynamic,” click here. For “Marvin Scott III died in Texas police custody. His family will protest until the officers involved are arrested. Though seven of the sheriff’s officers have been fired after initially being put on administrative leave and another resigned while under investigation, the family and protesters say they don’t plan to stop until the officers have been charged with a crime,” click here. For “Police Group Says Qualified Immunity Makes Americans ‘Less Safe,’” click here. For “The Case for Ending All Traffic Stops (Updated),” click here. For “It’s Time to Kick Armed Cops Off the Road: We should not have to live in a world where the police can kill young men like Daunte Wright for committing traffic violations,” click here. For “The Myth of the Dangerous Traffic Stop Is Killing Black Men in America,” click here. For “Supreme Court rulings on traffic stops reinforce structural racism in policing: The court was well aware of what it was doing,” click here. For “Get Police Out of the Business of Traffic Stops,” click here. For “You’ve Heard About Gerrymandering. What Happens When It Involves Prisons? Counting people where they’re imprisoned takes political power away from cities and transfers it to rural areas,” click here. For “The Long Shadow of Virginia’s Death Penalty: Virginia made history when it abolished capital punishment. But for those who were proximate to the state’s 113 executions, closure remains complicated,” click here. For “Incarceration touches millions with loved ones behind bars. And it’s making many of them sick,” click here. For “Opinion: We’re making progress on the ‘what’ of reimagining safety. But what about the ‘how’?” click here. For “I’m in a Police Union That Holds Bad Cops Accountable: The Ethical Society of Police isn’t afraid to speak out against police misconduct,” click here. For “Undanced Dances During a Pandemic: From inside a California prison come choreographies of the mind,” click here. For “Can The Death Penalty Be Fixed? These Republicans Think So: A growing number of conservative lawmakers want to overhaul capital punishment, or end it,” click here. For “As New Police Reform Laws Sweep Across the U.S., Some Ask: Are They Enough? States have passed over 140 police oversight bills since the killing of George Floyd, increasing accountability and overhauling rules on the use of force. But the calls for change continue,” click here. For “Oregon Department of Corrections sued for charging prisoners for artificial limbs, other medical equipment,” click here. For “Opinion: Prolonged solitary confinement is torture. It’s time for all states to ban it,” click here. For “With dozens of reforms already in place, NJ presses for policing changes: AG has ordered training, rewritten use-of-force rules and said videos recorded by police should be public. Governor says he’s willing to go further,” click here. For “When communities try to hold police accountable, law enforcement fights back: Civilian oversight is undermined by politicians and police, who contend citizens are ill-equipped to judge officers,” click here.
FROM PREVIOUS EDITIONS OF THE KEY UPDATE BUT STILL FRESH!
ACTION ALERT: Contact Your Legislators to Demand Covid-19 Vaccine for Homebound People
People who are homebound have been largely overlooked in the campaign to vaccinate people against Covid-19. At this writing, some states, such as Maryland, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, have mobile vaccination vans ready to take the vaccine to people in their homes. And other states, such as Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, New York, and Mississippi, have plans in place to vaccinate homebound adults but only in certain parts of their respective states, although they hope to expand statewide. But other states are farther behind: New Jersey has three vans ready to go, but “it could be weeks before they’re on the road,” according to a recent article. And California is even less prepared to vaccinate its homebound population. Providing Covid-19 vaccinations is a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. If your state is not already vaccinating its homebound residents, contact your state and federal legislators to demand that this change. To find your state legislators, click here. To find your federal legislators, click here.
ADVOCACY WORKS! Charles Helmer’s Forced Electroshock Scheduled for April 23 Was Canceled!
Thanks to you and the countless others who responded to MindFreedom International’s Shield program to help prevent the continued use of forced electroshock (also known as electroconvulsive treatment, or ECT) on Charles Helmer, a 22-year-old Minneapolis man, Charles’s forced electroshock scheduled for April 23 was canceled! Charles’s mother, Ann Fuller, wrote to MFI: "Hey, they stopped ECT on Charles temporarily!!!! YEAH!!! Hopefully for good...Thank you all for your effort & kindness. Much appreciated! Ann & Charles xo.” Again, thank you for your efforts to help Charles! Along with the work of many others, your efforts helped!
(Virtual) 2021 Disability & Intersectionality Summit (DIS) Conference Info
The theme of the Disability & Intersectionality Summit (DIS)—"a biennial national conference that centers the multiple oppressions that shape the lived experiences of disabled individuals, as told by disabled people, in a setting organized by disabled activists”—is “Disabled Community Care and Survival: Strategies and Brilliance.” The organizers write: “This year’s DIS 2021 will have presentations scheduled from June - December.” For more about the Summit, click here. (Courtesy of Dan Fisher)
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Covid-19 Vaccinations But Were Afraid to Ask; and See How the U.S. Is Doing Compared to the Rest of the World
On January 27, 2021, The New York Times published “Answers to All Your Questions about Getting Vaccinated for Covid-19.” Among the important facts: “You shouldn’t try to stave off discomfort [by taking painkillers] before getting the [Covid-19] shot”; side effects after the second shot are worse than after the first shot; there is no risk of developing Covid-19 from the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines; and “Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines reach about 50 percent efficacy 10 to 14 days after the first shot. You’ll get peak protection…about a week after you get the second dose.” To read the interactive article, click here. One rare side effect the Times doesn’t mention is a “Covid arm” rash several days after the Moderna vaccine. For a USA Today story about it, click here. Comparatively, the US is doing well on vaccinations, as of this writing ranking fourth in the world, behind only Israel and the U.K. To track the vaccinations in the U.S., by state, and worldwide, click here.
CNN Offers “A Guide to Helping and Getting Help During the Coronavirus Crisis”
CNN writes: “The coronavirus pandemic is overwhelming, and one of the most excruciating parts for many people is the feeling of utter helplessness in the face of widespread suffering and hardship. CNN’s Impact Your World has compiled a list of donation opportunities and tips to help those affected by the crisis. Click on a category or scroll down to browse a list of organizations, resources and ideas. Need help? Most categories also include resources for financial, emotional or social support.” For the free guide, click here.
RMIT Mad Studies Network, based in Melbourne, Australia, Hosts Monthly Virtual Reading Group
“The RMIT Mad Studies Network brings together anyone interested in Mad Studies, mad ideas, critical thinking about mental distress, the politics of ‘mental health,’ the mental health consumer/survivor/ex-patient movement and alternatives to the contemporary mental health paradigm/system,” according to the RMIT website’s home page. Currently, the RMIT’s main activity is a monthly reading group, now held virtually. The 90-minute groups take place on the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. AEST (Australian Eastern Standard Time), which is 14 hours later than Eastern Daylight Time (5 a.m. EDT on the third Monday of the month). The time difference grows as you move west: 4 a.m. CT, 3 a.m. MT, 2 a.m. PT. For more information, click here.
First Virtual ESTSS Conference to Be Held June 17-18, 2021
The European Society for Traumatic Stress Studies will host its first virtual conference, on “Trauma and Mental Health during the Global Pandemic,” June 17-18, 2021 (with preconference workshops on June 16). ESTSS writes: “Our invited speakers will present their research and clinical work experiences regarding this complex topic from different perspectives (see Tracks).” For more information, click here.
New Jersey Mental Health Players Virtually Perform “Racism and Mental Health”
On May 13, 2021, at 12:30 p.m. ET, the New Jersey Mental Health Players (NJMHPs) will create a virtual performance on “Racism and Mental Health.” “People of color and all those whose lives have been marginalized by those in power…experience overt racism and bigotry far too often, which leads to a mental health burden that is deeper than what others may face,” the Mental Health Association in New Jersey writes. “The NJMHP program combines performance art and advocacy. Our virtual performance is 45 minutes and mimics the live show with a few new added features.” For more information and to register, click here.
12th World Hearing Voices Congress to Be Held in Cork, Ireland, September 1-3, 2021
The 12th World Hearing Voices Congress, whose theme is “Solidarity in Times of Adversity: The Global Voice Hearing Community Reconnecting,” will be held September 1-3, 2021. “This year’s Congress will create spaces for voice hearers, family members, carers, practitioners, academics, and all those interested in the principles and values of the International Hearing Voices Movement, to connect and/or reconnect with one another in a post-pandemic world, either in person in Cork, Ireland, or online across the globe,” the organizers write. “If restrictions do not allow to have a hybrid Congress in Cork, then Congress will move fully online!” The online fees for voice hearers/students are £45.00 ($67); for practitioners, £65.00 ($97). If a hybrid Congress can be offered, then the fees will be €80 ($95) for voice hearers/students; €180 ($211) for practitioners. (The monetary conversion rates are as of this writing.) For more information, including a link to register, click here. (Courtesy of Janet Paleo)
MHA Offers Free “May Is Mental Health Month” Toolkit
Mental Health America writes: “The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the mental health of people of all ages. Now, more than ever, it is critical to reduce the [prejudice and discrimination] around mental health struggles, because that…often prevents individuals from seeking help. In 2021, we will continue with our theme of Tools 2 Thrive, providing practical tools that everyone can use to improve their mental health and increase their resiliency regardless of their personal situation.” This campaign is supported by contributions from Janssen: Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and Otsuka America Pharmaceutical Inc. For more information and to download the free toolkit, click here.
Disability Rights California Invites You to Its Past, Present, and Future (Free) Webinars
Disability Rights California (DRC) writes: “You are cordially invited to join us in our virtual disability rights trainings. Our webinars are twice a week, on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT) in English and Thursdays at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) in Spanish. Our free trainings provide information and resources on different topics related to mental health, self-advocacy, our legal rights (based on California law) and access to services that are informative and empowering. We welcome all peers (people with lived experience), service providers, family members and people in the community.” To view the webinars, click here.
NARPA Free Webinar Series Is Available Online
“In lieu of a face-to-face conference in 2020, NARPA presented a series of webinars related to current events. The last presentation in this series took place in December, with ‘Mental Health Courts and Specialized Courts in Canada: Access to Justice from the Perspective of people with psychiatric histories.’ All of the webinars are free and are available for streaming on NARPA's YouTube Channel. For more information, click here.
Here's Your Chance to Help Transform Mental Health Services Research in the U.S.!
If you’ve ever served on an advisory board for a research or evaluation project, provided even limited consultation, or partnered as a peer-run organization in such research, you’re eligible to participate in a national survey aimed at better understanding researchers’ and stakeholders’ experiences of participatory research! The anonymous, 10-20 minute survey includes both closed- and open-ended questions about your experiences with such research, perspectives on barriers, and potential targets for policy change and resource development. Findings will be used to inform future projects focused on building stakeholder research capacity and strengthening participatory research in the U.S. All participants will receive a $20 Amazon gift card. This new study is connected to “Building Capacity for Stakeholder Involvement and Leadership in Mental Health Services Research,” included in the August 2020 Key Update, which involved detailed interviews. Principal Investigator Dr. Nev Jones (genevra@usf.edu) writes, “We are still doing interviews ($50 per interview) so feel free to contact me about that too.” The survey IRB ID# is 001319; the project including this survey was developed with the PCORI-funded PathED Collaborative, co-led by Drs. Nev Jones (genevra@usf.edu) and Linda Callejas (callejas@usf.edu). For more information and/or to participate, click here.
National Survey Seeks Input from Certified Peer Specialists
“Routine peer support has shown to increase individuals’ hope, sense of personal control, ability to make positive changes, and decreased psychiatric symptoms,” writes Dr. Karen Fortuna of the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. “Despite these benefits, the organizational structure of peer support is not known. Dartmouth College is initiating a national survey of trained Certified Peer Specialists to help us understand the organizational structure of peer support services.” For more information and/or to participate in the 15-minute survey, click here. (Courtesy of Judene Shelley)
A Service-User-Led Survey of “Experiences of the Intersections of Psychosis, Difficult Events, and Trauma” Seeks Participants with Firsthand Experience
A study developed by researchers at the University of South Florida “aims to better understand the relationships between prior experiences of trauma or adversity and experiences such as hearing voices, unusual beliefs and paranoia, as well as the ways in which these experiences themselves can contribute to trauma or distress.” The researchers, who themselves have lived experience, are seeking respondents “who self-identify as having current or prior experiences that would conventionally be labeled psychosis.” The anonymous survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete; every 10th respondent will be compensated with a $50 gift card, up to five gift cards. Questions? Contact Dr. Nev Jones at genevra@usf.edu. For more information and/or to participate, click here.
“Mapping the Disability Experience: Share Your Stories”
“We invite you to draw a map of your neighborhood or environment to capture how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted (or not) your use and understanding of space,” researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago write. “This can include drawings/images of your home, your neighborhood, your city or beyond. Maps can come in many forms, styles, perspectives, and mediums. We are interested in collecting these maps to capture and better understand the experiences of disability and the environment during the coronavirus pandemic.” Submissions will be accepted through June 30, 2020. For more information or to participate, click here. Questions? Contact Yochai Eisenberg, PhD, yeisen2@uic.edu (Courtesy of Elizabeth R. Stone)
Hearing Voices Network Is Now Hosting Online Groups
“There are now ONLINE opportunities to connect, share experiences, and find mutual support,” the Hearing Voices Network (HVN) writes. “These groups are accessible via web-based platforms and by phone…Online groups are specifically for those with personal lived experience with hearing voices, seeing visions, and/or negotiating alternative realities. They are voice-hearer facilitated. With further questions and for details on how to access the group[s], please email info@hearingvoicesusa.org.” To read this announcement online and for more information, click here.
Have You Ever Smoked, Drunk, Vaped, or Used Other Drugs? Or Do You Now? New Zealand COVID-19 Study Is Now Open to US Residents
“We want to find out how people are coping [during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown],” writes the New Zealand-based Centre of Research Excellence: Indigenous Sovereignty & Smoking. “We are especially interested in adults aged 18 and over who, before lockdown, regularly drank alcohol, smoked or used other tobacco products, or other drugs. We also want to hear from people who have taken up smoking or drinking or other drugs during this frightening time.” The study has been approved by the US-based independent review board SolutionsIRB and is now open to US residents. “The study website includes helpful Coping in Lockdown tips, tips on Dealing with Cravings, and information on alternatives to smoking tobacco.” To participate or for more information, click here.
Survey Seeks Respondents Who Are in Administrative/Leadership Positions in the Mental Health Field
If you are in an administrative/leadership position in the mental health arena, “the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP) Committee on Psychiatric Administration and Leadership invites you to participate in the International Survey on Administrative Psychiatry. The survey has two purposes: 1. To identify the concerns and needs of mental health professionals/psychiatrists in administrative and leadership positions. 2. To determine training needs in administrative psychiatry. We ask you to complete this brief, [15- to 20-minute] questionnaire to help us in developing recommendations for action. We also want to let you know that, if you fill out this questionnaire, you permit the committee to use your anonymous data for scientific work.” Peer providers are included. For the survey, click here. (Courtesy of Oryx Cohen)
“Experiences with Hospitalization” Survey Seeks Participants
“The purpose of this survey is to help us understand people's lived experience with voluntary and involuntary treatment because of suicidal thoughts. It was created by people with lived experience…We are planning to use this information to facilitate discussions with suicidologists and the suicide prevention community about the impact of the use of these interventions, particularly within marginalized populations. We feel the voice of people with lived experience with these interventions has not had adequate opportunity to be heard, and hope that by completing this survey anonymously, people who have been most impacted can find a safe way to share their experiences. Please note that this is not a research project.” For more information and/or to participate, click here. (Courtesy of Leah Harris)
International Survey on Antipsychotic Medication Withdrawal Seeks Respondents
“Have you taken antipsychotic medication (such as Zyprexa, Seroquel, Abilify, Risperdal, Haldol, Geodon, Stelazine, and others), for any condition or diagnosis, with or without other medications? And did you ever stop taking antipsychotics, or try to stop taking them? Are you 18 years or older? If yes, you can take this survey about antipsychotic withdrawal and attempts to withdraw, including if you stopped taking them completely or if you tried to come off and still take them. The survey aims to improve mental health services by better understanding medication withdrawal. Lead researcher is Will Hall, a therapist and Ph.D. student who has himself taken antipsychotics. Service users/survivors/consumers from around the world also gave input. The study is sponsored by Maastricht University in the Netherlands; co-sponsors include the International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal. Questions? Please contact will.hall@maastrichtuniversity.nl.” For more information or to take the survey, click on www.antipsychoticwithdrawalsurvey.com
Virtual Group Is Launched to Advance Peer Research Capacity, Leadership, and Involvement
Nev Jones, Ph.D., and Emily Cutler, a doctoral candidate, have launched a listserv dedicated to building research capacity, leadership, and involvement among peers, survivors, and service users. Dr. Jones, assistant professor, Department of Mental Health Law & Policy, University of South Florida, was part of the team that developed “User/Survivor Leadership & Capacity Building in Research: White Paper on Promoting Engagement Practices in Peer Evaluation/Research (PEPPER),” published by the Lived Experience Research Network. For the white paper, click here. Anyone interested in joining the virtual group can email Nev at nev.inbox@gmail.com.
Do You Supervise Peer Support Workers? Then Researchers Have Some Questions for You
Researchers in the University of South Florida’s Department of Psychiatry and at Magellan Health are investigating the backgrounds, training, and experiences of individuals who currently supervise at least one peer support worker in a behavioral health setting or agency. “To the best of our knowledge, this will be the first comprehensive research study of the landscape of peer support supervision practices in the United States,” writes Dr. Nev Jones, the primary investigator of the study (Protocol Number 00040223). Participants must be at least 18 years old and work in the United States or U.S. territories. An online survey lasting approximately 10 minutes will ask about respondents’ backgrounds, training and preparation for supervision, perspectives and practices, and views on barriers and facilitators to high-quality supervision. There is no monetary compensation. Questions? Contact Dr. Nev Jones (genevra@health.usf.edu) or the co-primary investigator, Dana Foglesong (dfoglesong@magellanhealth.com). To access the survey, click here.
Mad In America Invites You to Submit Your Personal Story (Within Certain Guidelines)
Mad In America writes: “A ‘personal story’ is defined as your story of being in relationship to psychiatry and/or the mental health system, whatever that means to you. It might involve your opinions and analysis of what happened to you, as well. It can be about a specific event, or about your overall journey, provided it fits the length requirements (1,500 to 3,000 words) and has a narrative arc. The piece should be about your personal experiences, not psychiatry or the mental health system in general. Submissions should fall under the theme of rethinking psychiatry and the mental health system, and should be original works not previously published elsewhere. For examples of the types of stories we publish, view our personal stories archive here.” For more information and/or to submit a personal story, click here.
PsychAlive Offers a Variety of Webinars on Mental Health Topics, Many Free, Others $15
PsychAlive is a free, nonprofit resource created by the Glendon Association, whose mission is “to save lives and enhance mental health by addressing the social problems of suicide, violence, child abuse and troubled interpersonal relationships.” Psychalive.org offers a variety of upcoming and archived webinars, many of which are free, while others are available for $15. Among the myriad topics are “From Anxiety to Action: How to Stay Sane While Fighting Climate Change,” “How to Overcome Insecurity,” “Powerful Tools to Fight Depression,” and “Understanding and Overcoming Adverse Childhood Experiences.” To check out the webinars, click here.
Doors to Wellbeing Offers “State Selfies: A Picture of Peer Services Reported by Peers”
Doors to Wellbeing’s “Peer Album” is a directory of nearly 600 peer-run organizations throughout the U.S. They invite updates and offer instructions for providing them and add, “If your entry has not made this first draft, we encourage you to re-submit.” For the 158-page directory, click here.
Disclaimer: The Clearinghouse does not necessarily endorse the opinions and opportunities included in the Key Update.
About The Key Update
The National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse is now affiliated with the Temple University Collaborative on Community Inclusion!
The Key Update is the free monthly e-newsletter of the National Mental Health Consumers’ Self-Help Clearinghouse. Volume 17, No. 11, May 2021. For content, reproduction or publication information, please contact Susan Rogers at selfhelpclearinghouse@gmail.com. Follow Susan on Twitter at @SusanRogersMH